Micromagnetic study of magnetization reversal in patterned DyFeCo thin films

Abstract

Magnetization reversal in patterned perpendicular anisotropic DyFeCo films was investigated using micromagnetic simulations. The model consists of a square film of dimension 1 μm × 1 μm × 50 nm and a circular hole of diameter 500 nm on the top surface, with depth varying from 0‐30 nm. The results show that for shallower holes the coercivity decreases rapidly with the hole depth, but for the deeper holes, the coercivity in the hole region is much larger than in the land region. Further analysis indicates the variation in coercivity is due to the narrow transition region formed near the hole boundary where the magnetization has a tilted distribution determined mainly by the competition between anisotropy and exchange interactions. The simulation results are qualitatively consistent with our previous experimental outcome. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)